Synonyms for forbid
fərˈbɪd, fɔr-for·bid

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.7 / 3 votes

1. forbidverb

   Synonyms:
   ban, prohibit, disallow

2. forbidverb

   To disallow

   Synonyms:
   ban, disallow, prohibit

3. forbidverb

   To proscribe

   Synonyms:
   prohibit, ban, disallow

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbid

   To prohibit is to give some formal command against, and especially to make some authoritative legal enactment against. Debar is said of persons, disallow of acts; one is debarred from anything when shut off, as by some irresistible authority or necessity; one is prohibited from an act in express terms; he may be debarred by silent necessity. An act is disallowed by the authority that might have allowed it; the word is especially applied to acts which are done before they are pronounced upon; thus, a government may disallow the act of its commander in the field or its admiral on the high seas. Inhibit and interdict are chiefly known by their ecclesiastical use. As between forbid and prohibit, forbid is less formal and more personal, prohibit more official and judicial, with the implication of readiness to use such force as may be needed to give effect to the enactment; a parent forbids a child to take part in some game or to associate with certain companions; the slave-trade is now prohibited by the leading nations of the world. Many things are prohibited by law which can not be wholly prevented, as gambling and prostitution; on the other hand, things may be prevented which are not prohibited, as the services of religion, the payment of debts, or military conquest. That which is precluded need not be prohibited. Compare ABOLISH; HINDER; PREVENT.

   Synonyms:
   debar, disallow, hinder, inhibit, interdict, preclude, prevent, prohibit

   Antonyms:
   allow, authorize, command, consent to, direct, empower, enjoin, give consent, give leave, give permission, let, license, order, permit, put up with, require, sanction, suffer, tolerate, warrant

   Preposition:
   An act is prohibited by law; a person is prohibited by law from doing a certain act. Prohibit was formerly construed, as forbid still is, with the infinitive, but the construction with from and the verbal noun has now entirely superseded the older usage.

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbid, prohibit, interdict, proscribe, veto, disallow, nixverb

   command against

   "I forbid you to call me late at night"; "Mother vetoed the trip to the chocolate store"; "Dad nixed our plans"

   Synonyms:
   blackball, interdict, forestall, disallow, prohibit, preclude, nix, negative, prevent, proscribe, veto, foreclose

   Antonyms:
   permit, countenance, allow, let

2. prevent, forestall, foreclose, preclude, forbidverb

   keep from happening or arising; make impossible

   "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"

   Synonyms:
   proscribe, rule out, counter, interdict, keep, veto, preclude, forestall, prevent, prohibit, foreclose, nix, anticipate, foresee, close out, disallow

   Antonyms:
   countenance, let, permit, allow

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbidverb

   Synonyms:
   prohibit, inhibit, interdict

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbidverb

   Synonyms:
   prohibit, interdict, inhibit, restrain, taboo, preclude, proscribe

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "forbid":

   prohibit, ban, prohibits

Suggested Resources

1. Forbid

   Forbid vs. Prohibit -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Forbid and Prohibit.

How to pronounce forbid?

How to say forbid in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1520","6"],["1524","1"],["1563","7"],["1568","2"],["1572","25"],["1575","1"],["1579","11"],["1581","15"],["1582","5"],["1587","6"],["1588","1"],["1592","2"],["1598","3"],["1603","4"],["1606","3"],["1607","6"],["1611","2"],["1620","2"],["1621","2"],["1624","1"],["1625","1"],["1629","5"],["1630","6"],["1632","1"],["1635","1"],["1637","6"],["1638","7"],["1640","1"],["1641","4"],["1642","2"],["1643","2"],["1644","47"],["1645","2"],["1646","3"],["1647","10"],["1648","2"],["1649","4"],["1650","2"],["1651","25"],["1652","3"],["1653","7"],["1654","1"],["1655","1"],["1656","13"],["1657","9"],["1658","4"],["1659","14"],["1660","1"],["1661","32"],["1662","6"],["1663","1"],["1664","1"],["1665","1"],["1667","15"],["1668","11"],["1669","2"],["1670","10"],["1671","3"],["1672","2"],["1673","19"],["1674","13"],["1675","26"],["1676","70"],["1677","6"],["1678","47"],["1679","26"],["1680","38"],["1681","108"],["1682","77"],["1683","98"],["1684","76"],["1685","58"],["1686","49"],["1687","10"],["1688","68"],["1689","13"],["1690","21"],["1691","2"],["1692","67"],["1693","18"],["1694","48"],["1695","27"],["1696","34"],["1697","28"],["1698","73"],["1699","61"],["1700","111"],["1701","65"],["1702","99"],["1703","113"],["1704","189"],["1705","121"],["1706","195"],["1707","140"],["1708","179"],["1709","108"],["1710","282"],["1711","206"],["1712","74"],["1713","208"],["1714","173"],["1715","166"],["1716","126"],["1717","247"],["1718","106"],["1719","102"],["1720","459"],["1721","167"],["1722","260"],["1723","263"],["1724","271"],["1725","245"],["1726","259"],["1727","326"],["1728","353"],["1729","300"],["1730","360"],["1731","304"],["1732","409"],["1733","140"],["1734","213"],["1735","206"],["1736","232"],["1737","338"],["1738","372"],["1739","338"],["1740","285"],["1741","247"],["1742","233"],["1743","203"],["1744","241"],["1745","157"],["1746","139"],["1747","292"],["1748","289"],["1749","282"],["1750","414"],["1751","403"],["1752","299"],["1753","569"],["1754","588"],["1755","440"],["1756","170"],["1757","310"],["1758","312"],["1759","332"],["1760","282"],["1761","398"],["1762","211"],["1763","373"],["1764","400"],["1765","312"],["1766","569"],["1767","293"],["1768","461"],["1769","356"],["1770","360"],["1771","321"],["1772","392"],["1773","296"],["1774","332"],["1775","368"],["1776","336"],["1777","294"],["1778","301"],["1779","257"],["1780","346"],["1781","335"],["1782","378"],["1783","272"],["1784","434"],["1785","303"],["1786","372"],["1787","488"],["1788","511"],["1789","407"],["1790","476"],["1791","576"],["1792","674"],["1793","644"],["1794","431"],["1795","645"],["1796","739"],["1797","644"],["1798","614"],["1799","679"],["1800","895"],["1801","1529"],["1802","1027"],["1803","1420"],["1804","1213"],["1805","1443"],["1806","1613"],["1807","1589"],["1808","1820"],["1809","1872"],["1810","2322"],["1811","2596"],["1812","2424"],["1813","2185"],["1814","2114"],["1815","1742"],["1816","2167"],["1817","2482"],["1818","2198"],["1819","1950"],["1820","3019"],["1821","2401"],["1822","3818"],["1823","3181"],["1824","4293"],["1825","4702"],["1826","3325"],["1827","3215"],["1828","3675"],["1829","3510"],["1830","4952"],["1831","3515"],["1832","3986"],["1833","4082"],["1834","3972"],["1835","4120"],["1836","4122"],["1837","3933"],["1838","4010"],["1839","6210"],["1840","5631"],["1841","4935"],["1842","4551"],["1843","4722"],["1844","5632"],["1845","5893"],["1846","5974"],["1847","5210"],["1848","5665"],["1849","5107"],["1850","5735"],["1851","7161"],["1852","6703"],["1853","8003"],["1854","7217"],["1855","6703"],["1856","7258"],["1857","5689"],["1858","5550"],["1859","6176"],["1860","6311"],["1861","4683"],["1862","3839"],["1863","4495"],["1864","4978"],["1865","4657"],["1866","5205"],["1867","4914"],["1868","5171"],["1869","5444"],["1870","4967"],["1871","5630"],["1872","5114"],["1873","5266"],["1874","5853"],["1875","5823"],["1876","6209"],["1877","5989"],["1878","5689"],["1879","5283"],["1880","6708"],["1881","6253"],["1882","7084"],["1883","8808"],["1884","7974"],["1885","6758"],["1886","5336"],["1887","6112"],["1888","6615"],["1889","6290"],["1890","6575"],["1891","7296"],["1892","7198"],["1893","7243"],["1894","7047"],["1895","8110"],["1896","7724"],["1897","7361"],["1898","8542"],["1899","9988"],["1900","10867"],["1901","10700"],["1902","9981"],["1903","9958"],["1904","11495"],["1905","10044"],["1906","9805"],["1907","9406"],["1908","10401"],["1909","9111"],["1910","9551"],["1911","8986"],["1912","8872"],["1913","8496"],["1914","8231"],["1915","7423"],["1916","6699"],["1917","6995"],["1918","5965"],["1919","6679"],["1920","7910"],["1921","6832"],["1922","8251"],["1923","6760"],["1924","6252"],["1925","6461"],["1926","5917"],["1927","7476"],["1928","7270"],["1929","6491"],["1930","7087"],["1931","6300"],["1932","6017"],["1933","4614"],["1934","5471"],["1935","6091"],["1936","6274"],["1937","6268"],["1938","5929"],["1939","6402"],["1940","5584"],["1941","5257"],["1942","4428"],["1943","3745"],["1944","3766"],["1945","4092"],["1946","5441"],["1947","6626"],["1948","7052"],["1949","7174"],["1950","7517"],["1951","6692"],["1952","7105"],["1953","6631"],["1954","6745"],["1955","7459"],["1956","7165"],["1957","8147"],["1958","8428"],["1959","8536"],["1960","9221"],["1961","10357"],["1962","10699"],["1963","11755"],["1964","11055"],["1965","12834"],["1966","13354"],["1967","14073"],["1968","16050"],["1969","15764"],["1970","15870"],["1971","14489"],["1972","14684"],["1973","13717"],["1974","13247"],["1975","13181"],["1976","12947"],["1977","13082"],["1978","12778"],["1979","13829"],["1980","12910"],["1981","13765"],["1982","13423"],["1983","14003"],["1984","14114"],["1985","14698"],["1986","16548"],["1987","16986"],["1988","16774"],["1989","17948"],["1990","18851"],["1991","19247"],["1992","21361"],["1993","21092"],["1994","22735"],["1995","22647"],["1996","25188"],["1997","24682"],["1998","25641"],["1999","28768"],["2000","33505"],["2001","32345"],["2002","34245"],["2003","42258"],["2004","48795"],["2005","42797"],["2006","51328"],["2007","57014"],["2008","102951"]]

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use forbid in a sentence?

1. President Obama:

   Heaven forbid we've got a problem where we could have prevented a terrorist attack or apprehended someone who is engaged in dangerous activity, but we didn't do so simply because of inaction in the Senate.

2. Sun Tzu:

   If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight, even at the ruler's bidding.

3. David Miller:

   The law does not forbid pictures of the sunset, it was intended to prevent trespassers from collecting any information, a water sample, a soil sample, a rock sample on private land without landowner’s permission.

4. Del Rio:

   At the end of the day, cruise ships have General Motors, propellers and rudders, and God forbid we can't operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from, and we can operate from Royal Caribbean for a ship that otherwise would have gone to Florida.

5. Nupol Kiazolu:

   At that time, frankly, I didn't even know I was protesting. I thought I was doing what's right, i was just doing what I would have wanted someone to do for me if that happened to me, god forbid, or someone that I loved.